Visuals: When A Planner List Is Not Enough

Have you heard of bullet journaling? Basically, it's a way to use your planner where you list everything you need to do or know and use little codes to show whether the item is a task ( [] ), an appointment ( O ), or an FYI ( * ). For example, you might write:

O 9 a.m. Doctor's appointment
[] Defrost chicken
[] Write Nelson report
O 2 p.m. meeting
* Husband working late
*Thinking of ear plugs
[] Buy birthday gift
O Dinner with the girls tonight

Some people are raving about the system. Good for them! I love it when someone finds a system that works for her.

But for me? FAIL. MAJOR FAIL. I can't even make sense of that list in my mind, and I typed it!

I rely on visual cues more than I would generally like to admit.

Take my planner page.

Once I cross out the past days, my eyes automatically focus on Sunday's entry. That entry has three columns. My eyes focus on the left and most important column first.

I use visuals in other parts of my life, too.

I put my morning meds next to my alarm clock, so I remember to take them.

I put my coffee cup in front of my coffee pot, so that I remember to heat up the milk.

I put a stack of tasks - labeling Valentine's card, a hand-drawn picture to share on Facebook, winter gear needing storage, and my grocery list to make today - in the main part of my desk.

This stuff is not clutter. I can't stand anything on my desk, so I will deal with it today, since I see it. The visual cue works for me, in a way that a list does not.

I love lists. Lists are very useful. But you must work a list, and I don't always have time for that!

Etcetera.

Note To Self: How To Write Planner Task Entries

Sometimes, a blog entry just writes itself. Today, for instance, I opened my task list to find the following task, right there in the middle of the list, "E JS: Planner Paper."

What the heck does that even mean?

E is my context code for errands. So that part is easy. Even if I were to forget what my codes stand for, I have a cheat sheet of codes in my Notes (ABC Files) called "Planner," that includes things like context codes, sources of refills and printables for my planner, and instructions for how to print out smaller size printables.

Generally, two or three letters together indicate initials. I searched my Facebook friends, and only three names start with the initials JS.

Next, there are the words "Planner Paper." You see my mistake, right? Planner paper could mean anything. Instead of "planner paper," I should have used an action verb.

That's correct. The simple step of using an action verb likely would have clued me in. I would understand my own note.

"Pay Mom $30."

"Inventory Mardi Gras."

"Add April pp."

All have action verbs, and I understand every single entry.

Here's what I came up with:

Errand - J. Smith (one of my Facebook friends) - Pick up planner paper from his office. (He has some old paper from his FC Classic days.) Yes, I solved the mystery!

How I should have written the entry:

E - J. Smith: Pick up planner paper (office)

The rules that I am following now on:

1. Use a context code.

2. Use initials for family members, bosses, or anyone that you interact with daily, but for people you see less often, use an initial and a last name.

3. Use an action verb to begin the entry.

4. Where an address is involved, note the address.

5. Keep a list of common abbreviations that you use on your Planner page in your Notes or ABC Files.

Lesson learned!

Etcetera.

Chore Expectations: A High Form Of Love

***This post may contain affiliate links. These links help you find the items that I use in my planner and financially support this blog. See my "Disclaimer" link for additional details.***

Each day, I sit down and write a blog entry about being organized. I teach people some new ways to plan or tricks to make doing the laundry more efficient or getting that big work project done on time. If someone didn't know my family, she might assume I do it all - housework, child care, and cooking - and do it all well.

I do not.

I love my family. I consider cooking for them a blessing. Spending time caring for my kids is a response to a calling. Helping around the house is part of my marriage vow to "love and cherish, all the days of my life."

But the blessings are multiplied when I teach my children to care for the home. The blessings grow when I allow my husband the space to love and to cherish me.

And those blessings, my Loyal Readers, only happen when I, the uber-planner control freak, let go of my expectations for perfection and let the rest of the family take over some of the chores.

For my children, this means a bathroom that is cleaned by their little five and seven year old hands, but still has a filthy spot in the corner. It means dishes that are dropped and shatter while they unload the dishwasher, without any screaming or fussing, but with a broom, a dustpan, and a damp cloth to wipe away the shards of glass. Laundry, folded nicely, gets shoved into drawers and tortured. (There is therapy available for those who twitched at the idea of wrinkled undies. Seriously. Seek counseling.)

It's all okay. I put away my Type A and tolerate the imperfection, because the gift is not a gift to me of getting to skip out on chores, but a gift TO them, of life skills and ways to bless their spouses, should they ever decide to marry.

My husband often cleans and folds the laundry, but leaves it out on the couch. (Okay, that makes my OCD twitch.) His idea of cooking supper basically consists of microwaving frozen food. And left to organize, he loses half of our possessions.

Yet, I step back and let him do a share (varying from about 40% when he is working full-time to about 10% during overtime season - and, yes, it was more like 50/50 when I worked outside of the home full time). It's hard. I often could do the same chore in half the time (and, *cough*, 100 times better).

But sharing the burden is good for him (he is useful and a real part of the family, instead of a lump on the couch asking for a beer), for the kids (who see that all adults pitch in), and me (as I get breaks from the constant demands).

Sure, I focus on the things that are easier for me. I organize and put things away. I cook (as I am a much better cook). I do a lot of the disciplining and most of the overseeing of chores and homework. Guess who plans birthday parties and keeps track of our social calendar?

But my husband reads to the kids, teaches them to ride bikes, and oversees bath time. He cleans (as he doesn't seem to get bored like I do) and takes out the heavy trash.

There is a division of labor, but it is based on our gifts and our struggles, not our gender roles. It's not exactly 50/50, but it's balanced, with a 50/50 divide on the most hated chores, and each of us taking on things that the other hates to do.

Every day, as we go about our chores, no one person is overwhelmed. The children see chores as the norm, and don't dread them as much as they would if chores was an occasional thing or if their first time doing them was as a teenager. Our house becomes our home because all four of us work, as a team, to make it one.

Families who bless the home together will experience so much joy in return. If your family isn't dividing up the labor, forget considering how unfair that that is to the main housekeeper. (Oh, it's plenty unfair. But that's not the point.) Consider how unfair it is to everyone else in the home. They are being cheated out of being a full, active member of the family.

Love and cherish your family, by setting expectations of full participation in keeping the home, feeding each other, and caring for and teaching your children.

And don't forget to have fun doing it.

Etcetera.

Not Lazy : Using Your Planner To Overcome Roadblocks

Sometimes, I don't do something just because I am lazy.



That long pause was just to give that statement time to sink in. :)

Sometimes, I am lazy. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not too ashamed of it. It took me years to be comfortable with being lazy every now and then. I used to think of laziness as failure. Now, I consider it part of the natural ebb and flow of life. I'm trying to be more Type B than Type A. (It's a work in progress. Also, I can practically hear all my Type B friends laughing out loud at the idea that I might be less Type A lately. They know who they are.)

But every now and then, something isn't getting done and I suspect I am just procrastinating. That is the case with my volunteer work for the kids' school's auction committee. I felt like I just was lazy and not getting it done. But then I tried to get it done, and guess what? I was wrong!

I tried to visit the vendors on my list and figured out that there were two major roadblocks: 1) the vendors were physically not in parts of the city where I generally drive and 2) the businesses were not open at 8 a.m., the time I get to the city. I realized that I kept trying to get the visits done, but I was not getting it done because of timing and physical location. Basically, to get the visits done, I would have to take a special trip into the city.

So I revised my plan for getting the auction solicitations done. I spent a few minutes with Google, and wrote down the address and open hours of each business. (Note that once I knew the locations and times, I numbered the businesses in the most efficient order for visiting them. That way, I don't need to think about where to go next.)

I also checked my calendar and found out that, on Friday, I would be in the city most of the day anyway, because of a midday appointment. So I scheduled the visits on Friday.

Hopefully, this will work. Yes, doing research to prep for a project is quite Type A of me. But, hopefully, it will make the actual task relaxing and more Type B. I'm pretty lazy, after all, and now I just have to follow a checklist instead of thinking. Lazy wins!

Etcetera.

Incoming Paperwork: Processing With A Planner And A Highlighter

Most pieces of paper are simple to process.

Wedding invitation? Note the date and address, mark the RSVP card and put it in the mail, and toss the invitation. Bill? Write the check and put it in the mail. Note mailing date on your planner. Junk mail? Toss. Graded papers? Sign and return to school.

But, sometimes, a more complex paper enters your home or office. Today, my complex paper was the instructions for the upcoming Krewe of Kindergarten Mardi Gras parade.

What makes me call it complex? Well, it's basically an entire project, summed up in one page of instructions. Make a float. Dress in costume. Buy or gather up throws. Deliver the float. Pick up the float. Supervise the parade. Sign out the kids. (Indeed, I do see the irony in the fact that the kindergarten parade is a complex project.)

When multiple steps, including dates, times, and tasks, are included in a written document, there are two goals. One goal is to get the information into your planner in a way that is workable for you. The other goal is to complete all tasks and appointments without missing any. These two goals are obviously closely related.

The way that I tackle such a project is three-fold.

First, I highlight any tasks, dates/times, and FYI information that are important. In this example, I used a yellow Frixion Colors marker (which isn't, technically, a highlighter, but a highlight color).

Notice that I put boxes around schedule stuff (goes on my monthly calendar) and underline details or tasks. (If you are a color-sensitive person, use one color for schedule, one for tasks, and one for FYI.)

Second, I copy scheduled stuff onto my monthly pages and tasks (including a DUE date for the project) on my weekly pages.

See the little check marks in the above picture? I check off each item as it is copied into my planner so that I don't accidentally miss anything.

The scheduled events go here, in my monthly pages.

Tasks that must be done on a certain date go in the weekly pages, along with a DUE date for the project, written far enough in advance of the actual date to ensure that all tasks in the project will get done. 

If you have not read about how I handle due dates, it's worth reading here.

All other tasks, the catch-all stuff that just needs to be done sometime before the deadline, go on the project page.

The third step, then, is to make a project page. (This step may not be necessary, depending on the complexity of the information. The highlighting trick works even for less complex, multiple bits of information. In those cases, just copy all schedule information and tasks into the appropriate parts of your planner.)

At this point, you have the option to discard the paper (if you have copied absolutely all the information that you might need into your planner), put it in your planner to carry around with a discard date written on it, or put it in your pending folder/file/box with a discard date written on it.

I put it in my pending box, since I don't need to carry it around with me as most tasks must be done at home, anyway. My pending and in-boxes are simply a divided magazine holder.

I hope this helps you the next time you need to process a more complex piece of paperwork.

Now, I'm off to find some Mardi Gras beads! Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Etcetera.

Know Thyself: Scheduling In A Planner With Little Numbers

You already know my philosophy about scheduling appointments - all appointments go on the monthly (or weekly) pages while all tasks and due dates go on the weekly (or daily) pages.

I do this so that I don't double book. If someone calls me to substitute teach, I can instantly say yes or no by glancing at one page.

If I have an appointment that may or may not happen, I "pencil" it in by writing a question mark after it.

Tasks go in my weekly pages.

But what about paid work that is not on a set schedule? In theory, that should go on my task pages. In fact, my novel writing and blogging do go on my weekly pages or my task list.

What about work that must be done on a tight deadline (say, within the week) and measures in hours, not tasks? For example, if I promise to do 10 to 15 hours of paid consulting work in a week, so it must be done between Monday and Friday, but there are no set hours. Is that a task? Do I put it on my schedule?

Here's the trickiest part of being a planner, I think. A planner must know herself. (Or himself, as male planners are out there, ladies.)

Knowing thyself is how you decide to decorate or not decorate. Knowing thyself is how you determine whether you will use a pencil or a permanent marker. It's how you figure out what to write down and what you do all the time, anyway, even if you never make a single planner notation about it. (I always make the coffee. You'll never see it in my planner, but I will always remember.) (Except for sometimes, when I forget, but only because I did not have my coffee. How do you expect me to make coffee if I haven't had my coffee?!?)

I know that, if I don't schedule work, it won't get done. Oh, sure, if a certain task needs doing (for example, filling out an HR form or researching a particular legal issue), I will do it by the deadline. But as far as working for 10 to 15 hours, if I don't schedule it, forget it. I'll be trying to fit it all in on Friday, every time. My life is busy and will get in the way of working if work hours are not made a priority on my monthly calendar.

At the same time, I am doing the kind of work that I do - consulting/part-time lawyering, substitute teaching, blogging, and writing a novel - because it gives me the freedom and flexibility to pick up the kids from school and be a full-time parent to them. I refuse to give that up.

I've come up with a compromise. You've seen, recently, my new work planner. I will schedule certain hours in there.

On my personal planner (which gets all scheduling and hard deadline DUE dates, no matter what other planner I use, so that nothing falls through the crack of having a second planner), I will write little numbers on the monthly calendar. Nothing distracting, and they will allow flexibility in scheduling, but they will send a clear message that I have to work that day, for a certain number of hours, in my face where I cannot ignore it.

I'm thinking, generally, a 5/4/3/2/1 schedule, where I try to get in 5 hours on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, and so on. 

When I need to switch things up, say to substitute on a Monday all day, I can do 1 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, and so on. Or, if I am subbing half a day, 2 or 3 hours on Monday.

An advantage of this plan is that, by working extra or on weeks without enough work to keep me occupied for 15 hours, I can take the end of the week off. Who doesn't want Fridays off as a reward for working hard all week?

I know this post seems like an answer to an issue that might be very specific to my life. But you have something like this in your life. You are working on some goal, somewhere, that you want to achieve.

Maybe it's working out. A set schedule doesn't work (because you get an injury or something comes up and you can't run tomorrow or you are too busy with a work project on a particular day), but you want to meet a weekly goal. Try little numbers on your scheduling page.

Perhaps you want to spend a certain number of hours per day writing. A tiny number notation on your schedule, so you make sure to fit it in, makes a simple task into a PRIORITY.

Use the little number sparingly, of course, but use it where it works for you. Know thyself when you plan. That is how you succeed, stress-free (kind of) and happy. Oh, and plan Fridays off when you can.

Etcetera.